Stagnating
by SamCyberCat
Summary: Sometimes Luke needed help finding the words to describe how he knew in himself he felt about life. One-sided Layton/Luke.


**Notes:** Written for a kinkmeme prompt that wanted a "through the years" look at Layton & Luke in an asexual romantic relationship, based when Luke gets older. I stretched the prompt in that they aren't actually in a relationship for this, but I hope it works regardless. Set several years post-PL3, when Luke is an adult. As always, I must warn here that since this fic deals with Layton & Luke in a romantic relationship, if that bothers you then please don't read it. I don't want to be flamed for a theme that I've warned for in the description.

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Luke didn't communicate with his family in the same way that he communicated with the Professor.

Over the years, it had been a fact that was a little disheartening to his parents and more than a slight cause of worry, but nothing they could do would change the fact that, if Luke wanted to talk about his problems, it would be Layton that he'd go to before them. Even moving to America hadn't stopped the frequent flow of letters that the young boy sent back to England.

As Luke reached adulthood and this situation had not changed, Clark and Brenda silently agreed to just throw their arms up in the air and let him get on with it. When Luke eventually revealed that he'd saved up all of his money so that he could go back to England, they weren't even surprised.

So, they waved their son off with a fond farewell, knowing that he'd be safe in the care of someone they'd both known for such a long time.

And indeed, upon Luke's return to London, Layton did want to look after him. But Luke found that this wasn't exactly what he wanted when it came into practise. He was an adult now and needed to fend for himself instead of relying on the Professor for everything.

What Luke really wanted was to show Layton that he could be independent.

In a roundabout way, he didn't even need to. From back when he was a boy, Layton had trusted Luke to go with him on dangerous adventures, piloting robotic drilling machines, force entering a giant mobile fortress and fighting villains in various other dangerous ways (usually involving large robots) that would have turned Clark's beard white with fear if he knew the full details about the danger his son was getting into.

Layton trusted Luke to be able to look after himself.

There was nothing to prove.

He hoped that over time the boy would come to realise that, but Luke was reluctant, to say the least.

"My boy, you don't need to fix those loose tiles just to prove that you can," Layton called up to the roof, where Luke was crouched with a handful of new tiles, "We can always call someone in to do that."

"It's all right, Professor, I can do it myself," Luke shouted back down, "You don't need to worry about me falling and hurting myself or anything like that."

"I'm not worried about that, I believe that you won't, but it's needless to go through with this just to try and prove a point with me," replied Layton.

Luke looked down from over the edge of the roof; "What makes you think that I'm trying to prove anything?"

"The fact that you've been continually going out of your way to demonstrate your independence to me since you returned to London. Now, please get down from my roof," Layton scolded.

"Very well, Professor…" Luke sighed, sliding back down the ladder.

"Why is this so important to you? Do you think that I don't trust you?" asked Layton, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder.

Luke stared up at him and answered, "I… don't want you to think of me as a kid anymore."

"Did I ever say that I did?" Layton checked, his eyes widening in genuine surprise.

"No, but… well, you've known me since I was knee-high. And I'm different now. I want you to… see me as being different," mumbled Luke.

"My boy, I've saw you in the highest light that I could ever since you were that age. There's no way I could think of you that would be better to how I already do," said Layton.

"You don't get it. All the brains in the world, but you were never good at understanding people," Luke replied, shrugging Layton's hand off his shoulder.

"I must protest that-"

"Listen, Professor, I'm sorry, but it's true. Maybe you did trust me a lot when I was a kid, but I want you to think of me as a grown up now. I want you to think of me as being the same as you," Luke clarified.

"I see. Very well then. If I have… given off the impression that I don't see you as such, then I am sorry. Perhaps, in my sentimentality, I neglected to respect your current feelings. It was unintentional, I assure you. But from now on I will try harder to see you as you want to be seen," said Layton.

Luke very much doubted that he could do that…

"Thanks, I appreciate it," he replied.

Even if Layton didn't get it, trying was better than not trying at all.

As time went on, Luke's attempts to prove his equality to Layton grew less extravagant. He lowered his guard around his former mentor enough to accept that, even though he wanted to be viewed as the same as him, Layton was still someone that he could turn to for advice.

There was a lot about the world Layton knew that Luke didn't.

One of the things Layton was not known for being in possession of great knowledge for, however, was relationships. Within his whole life, Layton had only ever been involved with one person, who had past away almost thirty years ago, back when Layton had only just become a Professor. Perhaps this wound had been what had stopped him from pursuing any further relationships since.

Or perhaps Layton's reluctance to form a relationship with someone was for exactly the reason that Luke needed advice upon.

"What do you know about dating, Professor?" Luke questioned, quite at random, as the two of them sat sharing tea and scones in Layton's living room one day.

"Very little, if I'm honest," laughed Layton. It was the closest he's come to considering saying 'ask your father' in answer to one of Luke's questions, as Clark easily would have been able to give better advice about that subject than he could.

"All right then… I was just hoping that you could help me get my head around something," Luke replied, disheartened.

"If you want to ask for my help upon any matters at all, then I will always answer as best I can. Just don't be too surprised if I can't help you too much in this case," Layton said.

"I think just talking about it will help," replied Luke.

"Whenever you're ready then," prompted Layton. He was vaguely intrigued. In all the time that he'd known Luke, the boy had never so much as mentioned romance, to the point that Layton just assumed he wasn't interested.

Taking a deep breath, Luke started, "When I was a kid I thought that romance was gross, but dad told me that was just normal. It wasn't that I hated girls, Flora and Arianna are two of my best friends, but when it started getting… well, soppy, I used to freak out. Like when Arianna kissed me and I ran away from her or when Belle- …just Belle in general."

"It's normal for young children to be repulsed by such things at the age you were back then," agreed Layton.

"But that's not it. Belle and Arianna thought about stuff like that, but my mum said that's just because girls mature faster than boys, I think. So I thought that when I got older that one day I might change and get interested in all of the mushy stuff that I wasn't as a kid," Luke went on.

"Are you saying that you still find romantic affections to be… unappealing?" Layton asked.

"No. Um… maybe. But I don't think so," Luke muttered, "I mean, I don't think that kissing someone would be gross anymore, it's just that… I don't seem to think about it much at all."

"And is that a problem?" Layton queried.

"Not to me. But I think my parents expect me to get married and have kids one day. And just thinking about doing… that with someone makes my skin crawl. I feel like I'm letting them down because I'm not interested," Luke murmured, looking down at his half-drunk cup of tea.

"Your parents love you and you shouldn't ever think that they'd be disappointed with you for being true to your own feelings," Layton told him, firmly, "Most parents do aspire for their family name to be carried on and to become grandparents, I'll admit, but if that's not what you want to do with your life then I can tell you now that Clark and Brenda would both be behind you on that decision. My parents were when I told them that I would prefer to pursue an academic career over starting a family."

"But what about Claire? Didn't you want to start a family with her?" Luke asked. He knew that this was a subject that Layton usually avoided, but he couldn't stop himself from asking.

Layton visibly saddened at the mention of her name, but he replied, "I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Claire, but neither of us ever wanted children. That might sound strange to you, but Claire and I were both so heavily involved with our careers that we didn't think that we'd ever have the time to raise a child. All we wanted was the company of each other."

"That's really beautiful," Luke said, "I hope that I can find someone like that one day. But I think that most people would want to do you-know-what and I don't think that I could…"

"Luke, we are both adults here. You can refer to intercourse directly if you like," Layton answered, "I thought this was about starting a family, however. Is it really that part of it that scares you the most?"

"It's not that it scares me," Luke insisted, feeling awkward, "It's just that I don't like the thought of ever having to do that. It doesn't feel right to me, thinking about something like that. But it's normal, right? It's what everyone should want to do?"

"Not everyone," Layton said, an understanding smile crossing his lips, "Luke, I don't believe that you know the word for it, but I think that what you're trying to get across is that you're asexual."

"I am not! I learned about that at school and I can tell you now that I've never created offspring by making a clone of myself!" exclaimed Luke.

It took a few moments for Layton to stop himself from laughing at this outburst.

"No, my boy, what you're thinking of is asexual reproduction, something that no human can claim to have done. Asexuality, on the other hand, refers to a lack of interest in sex," clarified Layton.

"Oh… Sorry about that…" mumbled Luke, "But if that's the case, then it means I might never find someone."

"Not at all. Claire and I were both happily in a relationship, despite our mutual lack of interest in doing such things," Layton corrected.

"You?" Luke gaped, "I didn't think that… I thought you were just… well…"

"Bad at talking about such things? I don't claim to be an expert, but in general my lack of involvement is because of a lack of interest. It's not something I tell people freely, of course, but at the same time I don't think that I'm hiding it," said Layton.

"You must trust me a lot then," replied Luke.

A nod; "That was something that I hope you already knew."

"I do know, I just never suspected… Um, so… if you and Claire were in a relationship like that, do you think that maybe I could find someone one day?" Luke said.

"I don't see why not," Layton hummed, "These things just take time and shouldn't be rushed."

"Time's one thing I don't have, Professor. Life's too busy to stop and make kissy faces," huffed Luke.

"But not, I notice, too busy to stop for a spot of tea," Layton observed.

"Never too busy for that!" gasped Luke, "Perish the thought!"

On that cue, he picked up the tea pot from the table in front of them to pour them both a fresh up. It was lukewarm, after all the time they'd spent talking, but he found that tea time with Layton was always an enjoyable experience, regardless of the quality of the tea.

He left that conversation feeling much better about himself. While Layton had gone on to warn him not to make any rushed decisions about the subject, Luke knew in himself that what Layton was talking about applied to him. And now he knew that there was a word for it, too. Maybe it wasn't something that applied to many people, but it applied to more people than just Luke. Including the Professor.

Luke wasn't a freak and neither was Layton. And Claire hadn't been a freak, either. They were all just people who looked at life slightly differently to others.

He wasn't sure that he was ready to tell his parents about this yet, or if he ever would be, but he felt content just knowing it.

So time went on. And people changed.

As the years went by, Luke saw Flora get married to a young man who had graduated from the university, he got letters from Arianna, saying that she two was now involved with someone else and hoped that Luke would visit them sometime, and, most surprising of all, he one day past a now-grown-up Belle on the streets, with two young daughters walking along behind her. That had been an awkward conversation, but Luke was happy to see that she had found someone who loved her and could provide for her.

Life seemed to turn into a game of watching the other people his age finding partners. When he mentioned this to Layton, the older man just laughed and said he'd gone through that phase in his life too – with his friends from high school and college getting married, while he didn't. It would pass, he said. Soon they would all settle and the change would just become the norm.

That might well be the case and Luke was happy for them to find what made them happy in life, while he himself was content not to be with anyone.

The turning point was within a letter he got from Arianna.

"Surprising news?" questioned Layton, noting Luke's look of shock as his eyes skimmed across the page.

"You could say that…" mumbled Luke.

"You're not going to end up being a godfather, are you?" check Layton.

"No, nothing like that. This isn't even about her. Do you remember Crow, the kid from the Black Market?" Luke said, waiting for Layton to nod before going on, "Well, he's seeing someone now, too."

"Is it all that surprising? He wouldn't be the first of your friends to do so," Layton reminded.

"Yeah, but the person he's started seeing is, um, Badger," Luke elaborated.

"And?"

"What, aren't you surprised to hear that?"

"I don't claim to know Crow well enough to say that I knew of his orientation. But this too is part of being true to yourself, my boy. If he finds happiness with a fellow man, who are we to judge him?" Layton said, seriously.

"You're right, of course," agreed Luke, "I guess I'd just never considered it before."

"Well, given your own lack of interest in the subject I doubt that you would spend too much time dwelling on such matters," Layton said.

"No, it's not that. It's just that I think… I should have put more thought into it. Maybe I just assumed I'd have to be into girls and ruled it out too early. I still think… no, I still know that I'm asexual, but perhaps I should have thought about guys before just hearing that two guys I knew as a kid got together," replied Luke, not really sure exactly what he was saying.

Layton looked thoughtful for a moment, before answering, "Usually the gender you're attracted to becomes apparent in time. It isn't really a case of having to think about whether you like men or women, because you'll just know. In the same way that you know that you're not interested in sexual relations."

"I suppose your right," agreed Luke, "But it seems like more of a case of me having not looked at guys because I never knew it was an option. No one I've grown up around has been with someone the same gender as them, before I heard about Crow and Badger, anyway."

"Society doesn't really promote such things," Layton said, frowning.

Luke quietly felt that society could do with being a bit less linear.

"Maybe so, but, well, would it be acceptable if I was asexual and also liked guys?" Luke asked.

"I don't see why not," answered Layton, "I am asexual, but was happily in a relationship with Claire, after all. So there's no reason you can't also be asexual and with a man as well."

"Okay then…" Luke trailed off.

"Why? Do you feel that there's someone you like?" checked Layton.

Luke grinned; "A gentleman doesn't gossip, Professor."

"But of course," chuckled Layton, "Forgive my lapse in manners."

"Momentary lack of the gentleman code forgiven," commented Luke, putting on a tone of mock-seriousness, "All the same, I reckon that I'll need time to think about how I feel about things."

"And, as I've always encouraged you, don't rush yourself to come to conclusions on such matters," Layton advised.

"I won't," promised Luke.

Though actually, he knew that he didn't need to rush. Because Layton had been right earlier – this wasn't something you had to think about, it was something that you just knew.

All his life, Luke had known that he wasn't interested in getting involved in a relationship; he just didn't know the words to describe it before Layton helped him to find them. And he'd also known, on some level, who it was who gave him warm, fuzzy feelings inside. But he'd always put that down to being something that he should just ignore, because it wasn't right to like another man. Especially not one who was so much older than you.

No, while there were many things that Luke could talk to Layton about, this was definitely not one of them. This was something that he'd prefer just to keep to himself for the rest of his life.

Not that he was scared of that prospect, as he wanted merely companionship more than an actual relationship.

Luke was happy with his life just the way it was. And he hoped that it would stay that way forever.


End file.
